The Slow And Sad Death Of The Mane 6

by Blaze Firecake

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, Alternate Universe, Human, Sad, Romance
Length: 7326

This is where the well known Mane 6 come to a tragic end full of suprises.

The mane 6 have lived happy lives being friends, keeping Ponyville safe as well as defeating all evil forces that come face to face with them. But as time flew by, tragedy begun to strike the unshakable group when their enemies unite to fight as one against them. The results lead Princess Twilight to tempt her fate, as well as the whole of Equestria as new enemies rise to take over Ponyville.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-28 04:45:12 UTC

01: The Ambush

It was a nice sunny afternoon. Small fluffy clouds floating in the air with a calm breeze blowing about. Birds could be heard chirping from their nests singing melodious songs. Pegassi, Earth ponies and Unicorns could be seen moving up and down doing their various chores and duties. Fillies could be seen playing on the playground during recess as Mrs. Cheerlie watched over them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders also known as the CMCs could be seen discussing on ways they could get their cutie marks and as usual Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would discourage them.

Meanwhile at the center of Ponyville stood Twilight's new found castle after the fierce battle between her and Tirek. Twilight was sitting at her chair, reading a book on the history of the magic box that they found.

Out of nowhere Pinkie popped up from behind her chair, "Hey Twilight! Whatcha doing Twilight!"

Twilight, who was not easily startled by Pinkie's sudden appearance gave her a war smile as she said, "Oh hey Pinkie Pie. I was just reading about the history of that box we found at the tree of harmony."

Pinkie gave a silly smile as she asked, "Me and the girls are going to Valley View for a pick nick and they wanted you to come along."

Twilight said happily, "I would never miss a pic nick with my best friends."

"Yippee!" Pinkie shouted as she jumped in the air.

Twilight closed the book and placed it back in the shelf along with other books she got from the old castle of Princess Luna and Celestia. They both trot out of the castle as four royal guards in purple and pink royal uniform saluted at them as they left. Pinkie hopped beside Twilight as they headed for Valley View. Twilight smiled at Pinkie's silliness as she trotted slowly not in a rush. Any pony who met them bowed to show respect to the newly found princess.

Within a short 10-20 min the reach Valley Point to find the pick nick set up and the rest of the mane 6 happily talking and giggling with each other.

AppleJack spots them and waves. "Howdy yaal, so glad you could make it." She said joyously.

Twilight and Pinkie sit beside them as she gave them a warm smile.

"I would never miss out on a pick nick with my best friends." Twilight said.

She spots Spike up in an apple tree, picking some apples. "Spike? Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere."

Spike looks down at her from the tree. "Didn't you read the letter I left on my bed?" He asked.

Twilight seemed confused since she didn't recall seeing any letter on his bed. "It must have flown off." She said. Spike slid down the tree carrying a few apples as he kept them in a basket.

"I was helping Rarity gather some food for the pick nick. It was quite early when she came by and you were still asleep. So I didn't want to bother you so I left the letter on my bed." He said.

"I'm sorry if i made you worried about him darling." Rarity said as her ears flop down lightly.

"Its alright and besides. What are friends for right?" Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash dropped in from the Wonderbolt Academy since she was now an official trainer who trains newbies on the complex flying maneuvers. "Hey guys guess what? You are now looking at one of the top rank trainers of the Wonderbolt Academy."

Pinkie Pie hopped up in excitement. "Oh I'm so happy for you Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah. It is a huge job and also i nominated Fluttershy to lend me a hoof in training fillies on the basics of flying."

Fluttershy was lightly startled by her statement. "Oh dear. I don't think I could possibly fit to train fillies on how to fly." She says as she flops her ears down lightly.

"Fluttershy, I chose you because your a gentle pony and fillies need a calm teacher to train them. You can be gentle with like the way you are with animals with them and teach them the basic flying. Easy as pie." Rainbow said.

"I love pie!" Pinkie exclaimed making the rest smile to her silly comment.

"Alright. I'll give it a try." Fluttershy says. "Now that's the Fluttershy I know." Rainbow said as she hugged her from behind.

"Hold on." Spike says as his belly begins to growl. "BELCH!" Out comes a letter that Twilight levitates before it hits the ground.

She opens it wondering who it was from. "Oh, Its a message from Princess Celestia." She says.

"What does it say?" Rarity asks.

"Dear Princess Twilight,

I am inviting you to a cultural festival of the day when Canterlot came to be. I want you and all your friends to pack up and come here. For you will be here for quite a long time. Do not worry about the citizens of Ponyville. I am sending some of my best guards to protect Ponyville. I am sure you will enjoy your stay since you love to hear about the history of many things. I have booked for you a suite room for all of you in the best hotel in Canterlot, I'm sure Rarity will love that. There is gym equipment for ponies like Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack. A nearby petting zoo for Fluttershy and Pinkie will be in charge of decorations for the party.

                                                                                                                             Hope to see all of you,

                                                                                                                              Princess Celestia."

"My, Princess Celestia sure knows how to impress a pony" Rarity said.

"I cant believe this. This is going to be the first time I am going to learn about the history of Canterlot. This is going to be so exciting!." Twilight says as she happily hops up and down.

Both AppleJack and Rainbow Dash gaze at each other as they both say, "Dibs on the punching bag!"

They both squint their eyes at each other.

"Coin toss?" Rainbow suggests.

"Your on." Apple Jack says. Rainbow takes out a bit and puts it on her right hoof.

"Heads or tails?" She asks.

"Heads." Apple Jack says confidently.

Rainbow flips the coin as it lands on the ground and lands on the tails side but bounces and flips onto the heads part.

"Ha! I win." She says as she happily trots away to the others. Rainbow gives a light growl for she wanted to really wanted to use the punching bag.

"We will meet at the train station in an hour." Twilight said as they all head to their respective homes.

At exactly one hour they all met at the train station happy and excited for the fun trip ahead. Little did they know their fun, would take a tragic turn.

"Spike, would you be such a darling and load these up in the train?" Rarity asked in a sweet voice as she dropped a ton of bags on him.

His head pops out of the bottom of the heap with hearts pumping in his eyes. "Anything for you Rarity." He says as he lrts out a loving sigh.

"I'm super duper ultra excited!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"I know right. This is gonna be the best stay ever!" Rainbow said as she did a flip in the air.

"ALL ABOARD!" The conductor shouted.

Every pony enters their respective train wagons and got comfortable on the nice squeaky leather seats. The train tooted as it began it journey slow and steady, picking up speed as it went further. The mares were deeply engrossed on the trip that Spike wasn't part of it since they wouldn't let him speak. Spike sat next to the window along with the other pets of the mane 6: Opalescence , Angel, Winona, Tank, Owlowiscious and Gummy. Spike sighed as he looked outside the window.

Out of the blue Pinkie's tail starts to twitch. "Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Something is going to fall. Something is going to fall!"

"Um... Twilight." Spike says frightened.

Twilight turns to look at him. "What is it Spike?" She asks.

He slowly points outside as his hand shakes. Once Twilight spots what he was pointing at, her eyes got smaller as she was filled with disbelief.

"Girls....... we have a problem." She stutters as she points outside to a large group of changelings. They were all filled with shock.

"How is this possible? I thought my brother and Princess Cadence dealt with them forever?" Twilight said.

Before any of the other ponies could say anything, the changelings attacked the train with their green blasts that shook the train. Ponies screamed in fear as they ran up and down.

"This cant be happening!" Spike said clinging onto a post.

Twilight managed to get another look through the window and what she saw was a huge green blast that knocked them out as well as knocking the train off its tracks. The train skid on its right side as its wheels still moved. The changelings still shot their blasts at the helpless train as well as the innocent ponies and fillies. Ponies could be seen tossed by the explosions like rag dolls and some met their death in a tragic way. One stallion got mangled between the gears of the train where he got sawed to pieces. It truly wasn't a pretty scene.After the merciless attack, the dust cleared. Luckily the mane 6 survived and lied unconscious next to fallen pieces the train. Twilight slowly regains consciousness slightly coughing from her dust filled mane. Her vision was quite blurry as she looked around, as she looked if front of her, she saw a dark figure. She rubbed her eyes to clear out her vision as she looked up at the figure. She was frightened to see that she came face to face with Chrysalis, the queen on the changelings.

"Well... If it isn't Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis said as she lifted her by her neck using her magic. Chrysalis soon noticed Twilight's wings hanging down as she chuckles. "Oh. So your a Princess now? Only a better reason to make me kill you." She says as she lifts the other mane 6 ponies as well as their pets. "This is one perfect opportunity to kill all of you. But I won't. I want to see you suffer to the point you just want to kill yourself. Now, go tell those worthless excuses of Princesses that I'm coming, and they better be prepared. Tell this especially to Princess Cadence." Chrysalis drops them to the ground as she removes a devious evil laugh as her changelings hiss at them as they fly following her.

Twilight slowly lifts herself without a word to say as she levitates the other mane 6 with their pets who were all unconscious. Luckily her magic didn't get weakened from the crash so it was easy to lift them up.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were at their throne room discussing on the upcoming ceremony when Twilight teleported right in front of them only to faint seconds later dropping the other ponies and pets to the ground.

"Twilight!" Celestia said as she rushed to her aid.

Celestia healed her wounds, making her clean. Twilight regains her energy as she slowly stands up.

"Twilight, what happened?" Celestia asks as Luna attended to the other ponies.

"Chrysalis... is back... and she is coming for both of you... including  Princess Cadence." Twilight said as she slowly had tears filling her eyes.

Both Celestia and Luna were speechless from the news.

"How can that be possible." Luna asked.

"She attacked us on our way here and killed a lot of innocent ponies. The train is at the old canyon." Twilight said.

"Luna, get every single guard to guard every single square inch of Canterlot. Also send a small troop to search for any survivors along with medics." Celestia said.

Luna nodded as she head out of the room.

"We are going to have the fight of our lives." Celestia said as her ears flop down.

02: A Bad Dream

"How can this be?. There is no way in the whole of Equestria they could survive that blast form Shining Armour and Princess Cadence." Celestia says as she paced right and left. "It's impossible!"

"That's what I thought as well." Twilight says as she sat down on the cold marble floor as her ears flop down. "But we were wrong."

"We have to inform the Princess Cadence at once." Celestia says as she levitated a piece of paper and a quill where she wrote that Princess Cadence must come to Canterlot at once due to Chrysalis return and also to put the Crystal Empire on high guard. She ties the royal purple ribbon on it before she sends it to her.

"Don't ya worry Twi, whatever they have in store for us, I'm sure we can handle it. Right?" AppleJack says as she put her right hoof on Twilight's left shoulder.

"That's what I'm afraid of AppleJack." Twilight said as she let down a sigh.

Princess Cadence was busy enjoying a relaxing dip in the hot tub in the day spa after having a hectic time at the castle. She let out a soft sigh of relaxation as she kept a slice of cucumber on each eye after having some lotion applied on her face. "Ahh.... Its good to be relaxed again. There is no way anything could ruin this." she says as she got herself comfortable in the tub. A few seconds later, the letter appears as it drops into the tub making a soft splash. "Huh?" Cadence says as she lifts the cucumber on her left eye seeing the letter float on the water. She removes the other cucumber on her right eye before levitating it up and opening it.

It Read:

"Dear Princess Cadence,

Please come to Canterlot at once! This is a sheer emergency. It turns out that Chrysalis is coming back and she might want revenge for what you did back at your wedding. Have the Crystal Empire under heavy guard for safety.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia."

Once Princess Cadence read the letter, her eyes were filled with disbelief. "No. I-Its not possible. Shining Armour and I vanquished her. How could she have survived?" Following Celestia's orders she levitated a towel to wipe off the cream on her face as she ran out of the spa, cutting her little relaxation short. She ordered one of the commanders of her royal guards to be under high alert and cover every part of the Crystal Empire. Knowing there was no time to waste, the guard saluted as he dashed to his troops. Cadence packed the little that she needed before teleporting to the Canterlot castle as she opened the the 4 dual meter purplish doors into the throne room. "Princess?" Cadence asked as her face was filled with worry.

Twilight's ears perked up on hearing the sweet calm voice of her old foal sitter. "Cadence!" She said joyfully as she ran towards her with her wings spread with joy.

Cadence, happy to see the little filly she raised when she was young ran to her as well. "Twilight!" She said.

Once they were about a meter away from each other, they paused to sing their favorite song that Cadence taught Twilight when she was only a little filly.

"Sunshine sunshine, Ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They sang along, doing the actions that came along with it.

After their little number, they came into a lovely embrace as they snuggled against each other.

"Cadence, I was so worried about you." Twilight said looking up at her.

"I was worried about you too when I read the letter." Cadence said as she looked at Twilight with a slight smile.

"Cadence, I'm so glad you came as fast as you could." Celestia said as she trotted toward them.

Twilight and Cadence soon stood up  as they stopped their embrace.

"Yes, I did all that you said Princess." Cadence said.

"Good, at least we have a chance of defending ourselves as well as thinking up of a strategy." Celestia said.

"How can this be possible. There is no way. Absolutely no way that Chrysalis and her changelings could have survived that blast."

Cadence said in pure disbelief.

"We all thought the same. But it seems that all that we think had happened, isn't all true." Celestia said.

"Your Majesty!" Shining Armour said as he ran into the throne room.

"Shining!" Cadence said as she rand to him. Happy to see her love together.

"Cadence?" Shining said surprised to see her. Normally she would send him a letter before her arrival at Canterlot.

Both of them nuzzled each others nose as their horns touched, producing a pink spark.

"What are you doing here Cadence?" Shining asked.

She responded, "Princess Celestia told me to come here. Turns out Chrysalis is back."

"I was told.. and I can't still believe that." He said.

Shining soon spot her little sister behind Cadence. "Twily?" He said with a smile.

Twilight rushed in and gave him a huge hug. "I missed you so much big brother."

"I missed you too little sis." He says as he cuddled against her.

Celestia cleared her throat to break the little get together as she said, "Shining Armour. You had something to tell me?"

"Oh yes your Majesty. We have fully secured the castle and the troops are back from the train wreckage." He said.

"What did you find?" She asked.

"They managed to find about 50 survivors, and managed to get some luggage that wasn't destroyed." He said.

"How many ponies were on that train?" Celestia asked curiously.

He removed his helmet as he placed it against his chest. "167 your majesty..... we found 77 bodies of ponies including foals and fillies. The others might have been buried under the wreckage or the site that.... I... Just can't describe."

"Oh my goodness." Fluttershy said as tears balanced on her bright blue eyes.

Pinkie gave a deep gasp as she covered her mouth with both her hooves.

"I'm sorry for that your majesty." He says as he looks down lightly.

"She must pay." Celestia says as she looks down at the ground in anger.

"But how should we even defeat them." Cadence asks.

"I'm sure that with the elements of harmony's new found power, they are sure to defeat them." Celestia says with sheer confidence.

"But we don't even know how to activate it like the other elements that we had." Twilight said

"Yeah." Rainbow said as she went face to face with Celestia, showing her disrespect to her. "All we had to do was wear the amulets on our necks and BAM! Power boost done. But Nooooooo, you said we had to give back the elements after Discord's stupid plants came to life. Now the other one we got was in that box, gave us the boost when we were near it and it turns out that its under Twilight castle. In the middle of Ponyville!"

Celestia was quite ticked by Rainbow Dash's behavior as her left eye began to twitch. Being the princess she is, she composed herself and took a deep breath to calm down her nerves. "I'm sure Twilight will find the key to accessing it at any time." Celestia says.

Luna enters the hall as she heads to her sister. "Celestia. It is time to lower the sun."

"Alright." She says as she follows Luna.

They enter a balcony at the highest point the castle where the alter statues of the moon and the sun lie. Celestia, goddess of the sun, stood in front of the sun alter while Luna, watcher of the night, stood in front of the crescent shaped moon alter. Celestia flew up to the horizon to the level of the sun as Luna stayed down as they both closed their eyes. Their horns glowed as the Mane 6 watched with amazement. Yet they have seen it once or twice. Celestia began to fly down as the sun followed and Luna flew up as the moon could be seen rising from the mountains in a beautiful display.

"It truly is beautiful." Rarity said as she watched the glamorous show.

Within a few seconds, Luna and Celestia had switched positions, with the sun no where in sight and the moon high up in the sky together with the billions of stars that twinkled in the night sky. They both opened their eyes to end the transfer as Luna flew back down.

Twilight, out of curiosity asked, "Princess, what will happen to the Canterlot Festival?"

"It is too late to cancel the ceremony. So it must continue as planned. But don't worry, the guards will be protecting us." She said.

"I hope your right." Twilight responded in slight disbelief.

"Don't worry Twilight. We'll get them." Spike said giving her a bit of motivation.

Meanwhile in Chrysalis new formed hive in a cave not far from Canterlot. Millions of eggs filled with changeling soldiers could be seen all around that gave the cave a light green glow. Green goo was what occupied most of the cave. Chrysalis was sitting on a chair made out of the same green goo that she formed and made solid at the center of the cave.

"Hahahaha! Those fools don't even know what I have in store for them." She says as she made a small model of Twilight on her hoof rest. "I am going to make that little Twilight suffer and suffer until she can't handle it." She says. "All I have to do, is take away what she loves. Her worthless teacher and her sister, her friends, that annoying Princess Cadence and to top it all off, her brother and her little pet." She said as she chopped off the head of the gooey model. "The pain will be to unbearable for her that she'll just want to kill herself and that's when I personally take over Equestria." She says as an evil grin comes across her face.

The mane 6 were in their hotel suite in the well known "Hôtel de la Passion" which meant "Hotel of passion." Rarity was simply dazzled by the use of very expensive fabrics and the wondrous design. From the purple silk curtains, to the red shag carpet that went all across the room. The white leather couches with a spectacular design were at the center with a large boombox fitted to the wall filled with millions of hit song from well know artists such as The electric Vinyl Scratch, The melodious Octavia, The legendary rock star Black Star, Technical 6 Mares along with other great artists. The walls, coated with the finest maroon paint to give a similarity to the carpet engrossed the room. A custom white Marble fireplace was at the right place to give the needed warmth during the winter. A carefully sculpted glass table could be seen net far from the fire place and that was only the living room.

Their bedroom had the same carpet and wall look as the living room. 6 beds were aligned on a nest row with white sheets along with a black blanket to go with the sheets. Since, anything white goes well with black. Right? Wooden shelves were on the opposite side where each pony had a two door shelf as well as a safe down below it.

The kitchen was fit for a master chef to do any type of cooking. Tiles of Cream with a few artistic brown smudges filled the kitchen. The walls were a sparkling white with many shelves to store plenty of things. The kitchen table made with a cute granite design and has 2 ovens as well as 2 gas cookers. The necessary utensils and cutlery were already in some shelves. What made the room simply the best was the spectacular view of Canterlot from the outdoor balcony from the sitting room which was separated by a huge glass window as well as a glass door.

"Take it all in girls." Rarity said. "We are living the dream."

"Wow!" Spike said.

"This place is awesome!" Rainbow said as she flew in.

The rest of the mane 6 entered as they toured the apartment as they placed their dusty luggage in their respective shelves.

As Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash were taking their bags to the room. They passed through a room where they stopped in their tracks and made them rewind their steps as they looked back at the room. It was a large gym room filled with exercising gear. From weight lifts, to wing pulleys, treadmills and other equipment. At the center lied a 50 Kilos of sand wrapped in a leather bag attached to the roof by a long chain.

"I can't wait to buck that punching bag tomorrow." Apple Jack said.

"Girls its really late and we should get some sleep. Not to mention we have to attend the Canterlot Festival tomorrow." Twilight said.

"She's right on this one girls. We should all get some shut eye." Rarity said as she put on a white robe with Purple trims.

Apple Jack dumped herself as she dumped herself onto her bed, "It's about time! I am beat, ain't that right Winona?"

Winona barks happily as she jumps up to Apple Jack to lick her face as she wagged her tail. The rest soon entered bed as their pets did so as well. Spike got comfortable on a nice small warm bed with the same elements of the other beds. At least he didn't have to sleep in his small basket like in Ponyville for a while. Owlowiscious got comfortable of a smooth wooden stand as she gently shut her eyes. Opal soundly lied inside a cute brown basket with a very comfy pillow that was filled with high quality geese feathers. Winona had a little cute red dog house to sleep in but she decided to sleep next to Apple Jack. Gummy hopped into Pinkie's puffy hair and all one could see was his green tail sticking out.

"Now you sleep tight Angel. I'll see you in the morning." Fluttershy said as she gave Angle a goodnight kiss.

Every pony seemed not to be shaken by the ambush that occurred a few hours ago except Twilight. She was deeply engrossed in thoughts of what would happen if Chrysalis did attack and who would win in the end. As she continued thinking, sleep got the better part  of her as she slowly drifted into sleep.

Twilight soon found herself walking along the Castle hallway all alone as there was pin drop silence. All that could be heard was the tapping of her hooves against the floor.

The silence was soon interrupted by a deafening scream.

"TWILIGHT!" the voice shouted, "HELP ME!"

Twilight, who was ready to help any pony in need, rushed towards the source of the scream.

The screams grew louder and louder as it lead her to the throne room of Princess Luna and Celestia.

Once she entered she saw Rarity struggling to pull herself out of a bright white hole.

Twilight, filled with a sudden rush of Adrenalin rushed to her aid as she attempted to pull her out. "Hang on Rarity!" She said.

Apple Jack soon appeared in another part of the room in the same situation as Rarity.

"TWI, SAVE ME!" She said.

"NO! SAVE ME FIRST!" Rarity said grasping onto her hoof.

The situation got even worse as the rest of the mane 6 appeared in the same state all shouting for help.

Twilight let go of Rarity as she backed away shocked by the sight she was witnessing as she ended up at the center of the scene.

She was confused on who to save first as she looked at all of them, filled with fear. She tried to use magic, but her horn just threw a few sparks. She was defenseless. Celestia and Luna could also be seen as well as Cadence and her brother Shining Armour. She lie down as she covered her head. "No. This can't be happening!" The cries of help filled her mind making it ache.

As she was closing her eyes, she could see the tree of harmony as well as the sun and the moon.  As Pinkie Pie sunk into the hole, Twilight could see her element disappear from the tree of harmony. The rest sunk as each of their elements vanished one by one. "No... No no no no no! This is not happening!" She said as her eyes started to tear.

"TWILY." Shining said calling out to her.

Twilight rushed to him as she grabbed his hoof as she pulled with all her might.

"SAVE ME!" He said.

"Don't worry big brother. I'm here!" She said as tears dripped from her face as she tries to use the little strength she had.

As Celestia and Luna sunk in, the images of both the sun and the moon could not be seen as the room was filled with total darkness. Cadence was no exception as she too, sank in. What was left was Twilight, desperately pulling on her brother as he slowly continued sinking. She pulled with so much force that her hooves slipped right out of his hoof as he sank in.

"SHINING! NOOO!!!" She said as she pounced to the hole, hoping she would end up wherever the hole was taking them. But she was too late as she slammed into the ground. Nothing but darkness was all that could be seen. What followed was an evil laugh that echoed around her. Twilight began to cry as she slammed the dark ground hard.

"Why? WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN!" she shouted in pure anger and grief.

As she looked if front of her, she saw two fiery white eyes and razor sharp teeth looking at her as the figure laughed as the echos grew more and more.

"You are weak Twilight Sparkle. You are just a Princess with no extension of power." The figure said with a voice that sounded like 6 ponies talking all at once, all sounding very familiar, "Without the elements of harmony... or anyone else you love, you are nothing."

"Why... why are you doing this?" She asks as she continued tearing.

"Chaos. Chaos is what needs to rule this world. Ponies need to learn fear and PAIN! The feeling of losing those you love." It says as it gave a slight chuckle. "I want the whole of Equestria to experience.... what... you cant handle. They will see what kind of princess you are. What kind of leader you are. They will have no choice but to follow ME as I lead them into chaos." The figure moved closer  to her as it circled around her. "YOU on the other hand... will lie in the MUCK next to the pigs. Wondering what you did to deserve this. I will haunt you.... I will TORTURE you and I will kill you in the end."

Twilight looks up at the figure as it charges at her with its mouth open displaying its sharp teeth. She soon wakes up at her bed as she panted heavily. She looked over at the other beds only to find the other ponies sleeping soundly. She trot outside slowly to the balcony to get a bit of fresh air in her mind. She lightly began to sob as she wondered whether it was a vision she saw, or mind tricks playing with her as she leaned on the guard rails.

03: A Slight Interruption

Apple Jack woke up the following day being the first one up. She gave a large yawn as she got out of her bed slowly in order not to disturb Winona. She head for the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and on her way, she was surprised to see Twilight sleeping at the balcony. She slowly opened the glass door as she moved closer to her.

"Twi?" She said softly as she gently put her right hoof on Twilight shoulder.

Twilight did not respond. All she did was snore lightly.

Apple Jack began to shake her shoulder but all she did was just give a slight groan. Apple Jack soon decided to use force as she gave a small shout. "TWILIGHT!"

The shout reminded Twilight of the Tragic dream she had as she woke up with a startle.

"Whoa there Twi, Its just me." She said as she held her to calm down. "What are you doing sleeping on the balcony?"

"I just.... had a bad dream." She said as she looked aside with her face down.

"Care to talk about it?" Apple Jack asked politely.

"I'd rather not talk about it." She said. "It's too painful."

"Come on Twi, you can trust me." Apple Jack says, "I promise that I won't tell a single soul. Pinkie promise."

"Pinkie promise?" Twilight asks.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Apple Jack says.

Twilight sees that she can trust her as she told Apple Jack all what she experienced in her dream to the letter.

At the end Apple Jack gave her a warm smile as she said, "It was just a dream. Not reality. I don't know if dreams come true but I can definitely tell you that there is no way a dream like that could ever happen here."

Twilight seem comforted by her words as she gave a light smile.

"Come on. Lets wake the others. We have about 2 hours before the ceremony starts." Apple Jack says as she stood up.

"Oh. The Canterlot Festival. I almost forgot!" Twilight says as they head for the bed room.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODMOOORNIIIIIIIIIING EVERYPONY! YEEEHAW!" Apple Jack shouts as she flipped the lights on that shone brightly.

Every pony was startled by her shouting as Rainbow Dash flew up and hit herself on the roof. "OW!" Rainbow shouted.

Spike fell off his bed as he tried to pull over the blanket. "Gahh!"

Fluttershy gave a cute squeal rather than a scream as she sat up and grasped onto her blanket. The same went for the pets but Winona wasn't startled since she was used to Apple Jacks morning shouts. Rarity, however was still sound asleep with the help of her ear plugs that blocked any trace of sound.

Apple Jack moves next to her as she shouts right at her ear. "WAKE UP RARITY!"

All Rarity does is flinch a bit. As the wise ponies once said, 'Action speaks louder than words.' Apple Jack shoved Rarity right out of her bed. The feeling of falling instantly woke up Rarity as she fell on the ground with a thud. Rarity got up and glared at her as she took off her ear plugs.

"You know you could just shaken me." She said angrily.

"I would have done that but.... my way is better." Apple Jack said as she chuckled.

"Wait... where's Pinkie?" Rainbow asked curiously looking around the room.

"I thought I saw her a while ago." Fluttershy said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Lets go look for her." Twilight said as she got out of the room. "Pinkie?" She yelled hoping for an answer.

"I'M IN THE KITCHEN." Pinkie shouted.

They all head for the kitchen as they were surprised by the delicious site that met their eyes. Pastries of all sorts were set on the dining table, daisy sandwiches were in plenty, salads, oats and many delicious treats. Not forgetting cake of course. Pinkie had an apron on along with a chef's hat that were stained with flour and dough as well as icing.

Spike's tongue went across his lips as he began to drool as he say a huge bowl of gems on the table.

"Dig in every pony!" Pinkie said.

"H-how did you make all this in such a short time?" Twilight asked, "You ere only gone for a few seconds."

"It's a secret." she said as she whispered into her ear after giving an ear to ear smile.

They sat down as they munched to their fill, enjoying every single thing. They all finished Pinkie's delightful breakfast meal as their bellies were now slightly puffed up.

"That was wonderful Pinkie!" Rarity said.

"Your welcome." Pinkie said happily.

Even the other pets had enjoyed. Opal was busy having a little cat nap after finishing some tasty tuna. Winona had a very tasty treat of multi flavored biscuits. Owlowiscious had a nice bowl of fruits. Gummy was busy eating cake that he had recently jumped on as he was covered in sweet chocolate. Tank had a nice bowl of greens to munch on as well as Angel , but his had more carrots than greens. Spike was dead asleep once again with his head it the bowl after munching on the delicious gems.

After the mane 6 had finally prepared themselves two hours later as they head out, but before they left Twilight had one last thing to do.

"Spike?" She called out at the door.

Spike immediately woke up and rushed to her. "Yes?" He answered.

"I need you to take care of our pets while we are away ok?" She said.

"Again?" Spike said as he remembered the last time he did that where it didn't go quite well. Not to mention giving out a load of gems in order to cover his story and ask for help.

"I'm sure you can handle it Spike, just do it like last time." She said since she found Spike had been responsible of them in the end, not knowing what really happened when she was away.

"Yeah... Last time." Spike said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Bye." Twilight said as she shut the door.

"Bye." Spike said as he knew he had one hell of a day ahead of him.

"Twilight, I'm going to greet Coco for a while but I will catch up with you." Rarity said.

"Go ahead Rarity. We won't be far." Twilight said.

Rarity separated from the group as she trotted towards Coco who was browsing through some old fabrics that were being displayed for sale.

"Busy browsing through I suggest?" Rarity said as she stood behind Coco.

Coco, easily recognizing Rarity's voice, turned around to confirm if it was her. "Rarity?"

"Hello darling." She said with a warm smile.

They were soon in a loving embrace that only lasted about 5 sec as they let go.

"How long has it been since we last met?" Coco asked.

"About 5 or 8 months. Give or take." Rarity said. "How has everything been?"

"Everything is going great. I finally opened a new store for my new collection of clothes." Coco said.

"Oh that's great news!" Rarity said.

"My designs were so productive that I got funding from one of the most Famous celebrities around?" Coco said.

Rarity was impressed by her statement. "And who might that be?" She asked out of curiosity.

Before Coco could say anything, Fancy Pants, one of Equestria's famous fashion celebrities approached the tow in their conversation.

"Good morning ladies." He said in his calm composed voice.

"Good morning Mr. Fancy Pants." Coco said.

Rarity, who was dumb founded by the site before her,almost   had lack of words. "Y-your Fancy.... P-Pants." ,she said. Despite saying the same thing when they met for the first time in Manehatten.

"Ah. Rarity, jolly good to see you again." He said.

"Oh. So you've already met him before?" Coco asked as rarity responded with a nod.

"I see you have met my new associate Rarity?" he said.

"He is the one who was kind enough to fund me." Coco said.

"Of course, I couldn't let such talent go to waste. Now I really must go. It has been good having a quick chat with both of you. Tally ho." He said as he strut away.

"That was... Fancy Pants. Right in front of me.... and he spoke to me." She said as she began to fan herself.

Meanwhile as the rest of the mane 6 were trotting by, Apple Jack set eyes on the pony she was hoping not to see in a very, very long time. Trender Hoof, the stallion who fell for Apple Jack the moment he set eyes on her. "Oh no." Apple Jack said.

"Whats wrong Apple Jack?"  Pinkie asked as she looked at her hopping backwards.

She points at where Trender Hoof was as he was talking with some other ponies. "Take a wild guess."

Twilight looks at the direction in which she was pointing to as she spot him. "Is that Trender Hoof?" She asked.

"Wait, as in Trender Hoof, the stallion who saw hearts everywhere when he saw Apple Jack? Baahahahaha!" Rainbow said as she laughed.

"Quiet Rainbow! I don't want him to see me." Apple Jack whispered.

But it was too late, Rainbow Dash's laugh drew his attention as he walked towards them.

"Oh tail feathers! He's coming here!" She said as she lowered her hat to cover her face.

Before Trender Hoof came any closer a mare scared half to death shouted. "Changelings!"

Every pony looked at the direction on the mares hoof, that pointed at a large army of changelings up in the air as they stayed at the front line of Equestria showing no signs of attacking.

"Lets go girls." Twilight said as they all ran to the castle.

All Trender Hoof could do was watch as they all ran, missing an opportunity to talk with Apple Jack.

Rarity heard the commotion as she saw the others run toward the castle. "Excuse me darling but I really have to go now." She tells Coco as she follows her friends, not giving Coco a chance to say goodbye.

The Mane 6, along with Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence, as well as Shining Armour. Stood at a high balcony close to where the changelings were, with an army of guards as well. Chrysalis who was at the front and center of her army looked down at them as she gave a slight grin.

"What a cute reunion of family and friends. Isn't that right?" Chrysalis said as she gave a light chuckle.

"Why are you here Chrysalis?" Cadence asked.

"Oh look, if it isn't the queen of love herself. It's been a long time since our last encounter." She said.

"Get to the point Chrysalis?" Shining said.

"Revenge." She said, "Revenge for ruining my plans. But... that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here!?" Rainbow shouted.

"Suffering, I want all of you... to relive the suffering I faced. To rebuild my empire, my people." She said.

On the far left side of Canterlot, a very long carriage pulled up as several guards who stopped it.

"What is in the Carriage?" One of the guards asked.

A mare who was one of the 5 ponies who were pulling it said in a calm voice, "They are fabrics we wish to sell, as well as gifts for the Princess of the sun and moon. The ponies were in old clothes that were dirty and torn and their faces filled with grief that one would have mercy on them. The guard looked at them with pitiful eyes as he let them in, not looking at the contents of the carriage.

Little did he know that in the carriage was a rather large groups of changelings ready to attack on command. The 5 ponies were changelings as well in disguise.

"There is no way you can defeat us when we are united." Celestia says confidently as she stood tall.

"Poor naive Celestia. There is a way..... The element of surprise." She says as her eyes gave a light flash and what followed were screams of terror from afar.